Where will the energy of the future come from? And how we will access this energy? For Gerhard Schröder, the former Chancellor of Germany, there’s just one answer to these questions: Russia. And he has a piece of advice: We should start to talk about the gradual lifting of EU sanctions imposed in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.

There is instability in North Africa and large parts of the Middle East, the return of Iran as an energy supplier still needs some time, and that’s why Gerhard Schröder is certain:

Norway and Russia are the most secure energy partners for Europe. That was true in the past and will remain true in the future.
Gerhard Schröder, the former Chancellor of Germany

This was the underlying message of Gerhard Schröder’s keynote speech at the OMV Energy Talk in Vienna’s Hofburg Palace on November 9, 2015 at the invitation of OMV CEO Rainer Seele. Together with 350 guests, they discussed the geopolitical challenges and the future of the European energy markets.

The former German Chancellor, who turned Germany from “the sick man of Europe into the driver of the EU’s economy” (OMV CEO Rainer Seele) with his Agenda 2010, believes that the EU has not completely come to terms with this. This is why he proposes a massive change in the policy on Russia and advises net contributors to the EU like Germany and Austria in particular to show greater self confidence within the European bodies.

Rainer Seele and Gerhard Schröder’s views on lifting EU sanctions against Russia, the not-always-rational background to Eastern European energy policy, and the Nord Stream 2 project, can all be seen in the following video:

The recording of the full event is available here:
Webcast OMV Energy Talk.